SPOKANE, Wash. — Washington state leaders are sounding the alarm, claiming residents will see huge impacts if Trump administration tariffs go into effect.
People in Spokane say grocery prices are already high enough. A new report says Trump administration tariffs could raise prices even more.
“Pretty much everything has gone up in price, meat has gone up quite a bit,” said Mike Dewey, a Spokane resident.
A new report from the State Office of Financial Management says Trump administration tariffs will have major impacts on Washington’s economy if they go into effect. It projects thousands of jobs could be lost over the next two years, and prices on a number of items will rise.
Most of the Trump administration’s tariffs were struck down by a federal appeals court, but that decision is being appealed to the Supreme Court.
The state report projects tariffs could cause grocery prices to go up as much as 16 percent over the next two years in Washington.
“I don’t think many people that are in that position of making those decisions understand what its like to live within a really confined budget and try and make those decisions,” said Mike Dewey.
“You have to start making decisions and start making sacrifices to make ends meet even though that’s already the case. It becomes more difficult to get by,” said Curtis, a Spokane resident.
People are worried about additional price increases at the grocery store not just affecting them, but affecting everyone around them. They believe that it could cause people to start to rely on food stamps or food banks in order to eat.
“There’s already people who are homeless, people who are already struggling. The people who are helping people are going to have a hard time helping people,” Curtis said.
Several other imports are expected to be hit hard by tariffs if they go into effect. According to the report, clothes and shoes could go up by as much as seven percent. Used cars could see the biggest impact, with prices projected to rise by as much as 25 percent over the next two years.
“No matter how much the president wants us to believe that foreign countries bear the costs of these tariffs, that’s simply not true. Multiple studies make clear that the actual costs are passed on to you, the consumers in Washington State,” Ferguson said.
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